JACKSONTOWN – Steve and Laura Trickle, hosts of the four-day Lost Lands Music Festival at Legend Valley last weekend, faced the music Monday night at the Licking Township Trustees meeting at the township fire station.

The trustees joined residents in complaining about loud music disrupting their lives into the early morning hours throughout the four-day event, which featured electronic dance music with 1 million watts of bass. Some residents came to defend the Trickles and the event.

The festival, attended by almost 40,000 people on the Trickles' property, south of Interstate 70 and east of Ohio 13, resulted in two deaths, six arrests, drug use, nudity, traffic congestion which trapped school buses, and angry residents from as far away as Granville. The attendance was the most since a Jimmy Buffet concert in 1996, according to Steve Trickle.

More than 30 people attended the meeting, which included yelling followed by apologies, accusations, tears, lots of frustration, and some vows to work better together in the future.

Resident Katie Lawhead told the trustees, "The noise was unbearable. You couldn't watch TV, couldn't sleep. It's a slap in the face to the people here. There was a guy walking around naked on drugs, people urinating on the side of the road, someone broke into a neighbor's fence. It was just chaotic. Something has to be done."

Craig Brunstetter, who moved into a home in the area less than a month ago, said, "This was quite the surprise. We have a 2-and-a-half year-old and a 7-month old, and this weekend was terrible. Windows were shaking. Plates were rattling."

Township Trustee John Holman said the concert was so loud his home security alarm activated 22 times one day and 11 times another day.

"I can truthfully attest, the previous four days have been the most violating, intrusive, disrespectful display ever to the residents of our community," Holman said. "The nudity, the defecation, the fornication, the urination. Kids on school bus witnessed sex acts and full nudity on the way home from school.

"This concert has been an assault on and an exploitation of our community. This has been an assault on our first-responders, safety forces, infrastructure, school system's ability to transport children, peace and tranquility, and freedom in our own homes."

Officials from Lakewood Local Schools said Tuesday that no one had reported any of their school children being subject to witnessing sex acts or nudity.

Trustee Joe Hart said "The owners have sold their souls to greed," and showed a Feb. 23 email he received from Steve Trickle that stated the Lost Lands Festival would end music at 11 p.m. Thursday and Sunday nights, while music on Friday and Saturday nights would end after midnight, about 12:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Hart sent a letter to the Trickles on Monday, stating, "It is now very obvious to me as a Licking Township Trustee that as owners of the property, you can no longer make us and our Licking Township residents any deliverable commitments ... "

The Trickles responded to the critics of the event, defending some of their actions, apologizing for others, and vowing to work with the township in the future.

"I'd like to apologize to everyone here," Steve Trickle said. "It will get better next year."

Laura Trickle said the festival hours are the same for other events, when there were very few complaints. She said ending the concerts early only gives the massive crowds of young people more free time to go elsewhere, possibly causing problems.

"We have done music until 2, 3, 4 a.m. at every show, except county jam, to keep people entertained," Laura Trickle said. "These people are 25, 26 and still up and having fun, and want to stay up until 2-3 in the morning. That's the reason we go late. (If not) I can't guarantee they'll stay there."

Putting a decibel level on the concerts would put them out of business, Laura Trickle said. Stopping the music before midnight would cost them 75 percent of their business, Steve Trickle said.

"I made a deal with Lost Lands to quit the main stages at 12:30 a.m., and do small late-night stages in the campground," Steve Trickle said. "I know you could not hear stages after 12:30, as I personally monitor the neighborhood volume myself."

The Trickles said they had on-site emergency services, an emergency helicopter on stand-by in Lancaster, vehicles and people searched for drugs upon arrival, hired law enforcement, provided sanitation, put up more than four miles of temporary chain-link fence to keep people on the property, and offered $500 to each of 14 adjoining neighbors if they wanted to stay in a hotel for the weekend.

The Trickles and their defenders said they have donated to the schools, scouts, The Woodlands, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and the concerts have provided a boost to the local economy.

"Our community gets so much revenue from this," Licking Trails resident Kim Ross said. "We're fine with the concerts, when we like the music. We should have consideration for all the people who benefit from this."

Suzy Peters said, "My windows didn't shake. My 2-year-old slept through the night. My son's a firefighter and worked three days, and made enough to make his medical school payment. That was huge. He was one of thousands that was paid very, very well."

Hart said the township has a noise ordinance, but it covers the hours of midnight to 6 a.m. in residential areas. The music stages were on a part of the Trickles' land zoned Commercial Interstate, which is not subject to the ordinance.

"There's only so much that can be done. As a township, we don't have the governance of home rule. We're under the Ohio Revised Code.

Licking Township Fire Chief Mike Wilson said, "I really think this concert kind of overwhelmed everybody. The amount of drugs up there alarmed me. I think the township should take a hard look at what we can do to get this thing under control."